It'll All Work Out
by kaori-kun
Summary: Naruto, you're a fool for loving Sakura. Sasuke or no Sasuke, do you want your first heartbreak this Valentine's Day?
1. Sasuke

A/N: This fic was intended to incorporate some modern details from the real world and slightly alter the characters' personalities. However, the world of Naruto is forever still the world of Naruto.

* * *

"Sasuke, leave me alone!" 

Naruto stormed out the door (violently tripping two children with sticky lollipops in hand and creating quite a mess). He paused for a second, then retraced his steps and grabbed his money from the gaping cashier.

"Naruto, don't be overly sensitive," chided Sasuke, matching Naruto's furious pace.

"Overly sensitive? I think it's you who's being overly sensitive. I don't get why buying candy is so _freaking _hilarious. If you'd like to amuse yourself, go read hentai with Kakashi-sensei or flirt with Sakura or whatever the _hell _you do."

There was a long pause.

"Of course, Naruto-kun." Sasuke patted his shoulder. "But your voice just rose an octave higher and you're sweating like a pig."

Naruto reddened and quickened his pace.

"Plus, you were buying lollipops. They were heart-shaped. They were _pink_. And I saw the tag on the package."

This time Naruto's face drained of color, and he whipped around.

"You saw the tag?" he whispered faintly.

"Yup! For – AGHHH!!!!"

Naruto pinned Sasuke to the wall, his fist dangerously close to the bridge of Sasuke's nose.

"Don't – say – word – bout – this," he growled, his tone menacing.

"Ohhh, I get it. You looooooove Sakura-chan…" Sasuke sang out.

"Shut up! SHUT UP! THAT'S NOT IT!!" Naruto groaned and clutched fistfuls of his hair, stamping around like an angry bull.

"No problem, Naruto. I'll go buy the candy _for you _and give it to Sakura…without mentioning your name, of course," Sasuke teased.

Naruto's nostrils flared. _Hell _no. Sasuke was notorious for flirting shamelessly with one girl and, without knowing what hit her, she would find him prancing off to another girl. No one blamed Sasuke, of course. What drove Naruto crazy was that Sasuke could weasel out of trouble – unlike himself, apparently. And why was it that Sasuke was flirting with Sakura – DAILY?!?

"Shove it, Uchiha," Naruto said rather nastily.

Sasuke shrugged. "I guess you don't mind that I – for your sake, of course – am going to tell Sakura that you love her?"

Before Naruto could expand his last comment into all the offensive things he would have liked to tell this prick, Sasuke fished out a cell phone from his pocket.

"I have evidence, too," Sasuke said, smiling serenely at Naruto. The screen revealed a picture of Naruto drooling at a shapely, pink-haired girl in a very revealing bikini.

"HOLY -"

"That's enough, Naruto." A figure towered over the two. He pried Naruto's fingers from Sasuke's neck (that was prepared to rip out Sasuke's vocal cords) and shook Naruto's hand off a kunai (attempting to scalp Sasuke) and glared at them both in the eye.

"He started it." Naruto pointed at Sasuke childishly, his mind still muddled with hateful and wicked thoughts.

"Kakashi-sensei, do you really think that _I _would start something so silly?"

"Suck-up."

"Am not."

Kakashi looked at them wearily. It was like managing two wailing children - so unfair, really. Unless he gave them both a "time-out" and put them in separate corners, they wouldn't SHUT UP and leave him some time to read _Icha Icha Paradise_. Indulgence in isolation.

"Naruto, stop trying to murder Sasuke. Sasuke, stop teasing Naruto. And – most importantly – _go home._"

As soon as Kakashi had left – with intimidating threats to ensure total compliance – Sasuke nudged Naruto and whispered, "He mentioned you first."

Naruto glared at him. "So?"

"So YOU'RE in trouble."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"Who cares anyway? I'm always in trouble. Even if I_ didn't _do anything wrong." He shifted his glance and scuffed at the dirt road with his heel.

Sasuke thought for a moment. "Ohhh…that's why you don't flirt with girls!"

"Can you get off the topic of girls?!? That has nothing to do with this!!" Naruto exploded. Irritated, turned to leave. "Forget it! Why am I talking to you, out of all people?"

Sasuke tagged along. "But you have to tell Sakura! Otherwise someone else is going to take her. She's real pretty, ya know."

Naruto sighed heavily, defeated. "I know. I know. But she's better off…not knowing."

"You mean _you're_ better off without her knowing," Sasuke announced triumphantly. "You don't want to be detached from her if she rejects you."

Naruto nearly tripped. _Dammit, where the hell does he get this information? _

"But do you really want her? Prove it to me." Sasuke reached into his pocket (he stuffed everything in there) and conjured a small box.

A box of pink, heart-shaped lollipops.

Something called Time flip-flopped in the air, whirling and bouncing and, for a brief moment, springing up from the edge of every minute, every second, every memory - dipping low but never quite reaching the ground.

Naruto gaped at him -

then the box -

then at him again -

and wordlessly took the box from his outstretched hands.

Questions poured into his mind like a downfall of cold rain. But these were the only words that he could manage to say: "Why do you even give a damn?"

"In the end, it'll all work out." His teasing, cold eyes softened ever so slightly. Then, in his cocky, cavalier stroll, he sauntered back to the lifeless mansion he always returned to, day after day.

Naruto stared in Sasuke's direction for what seemed like an hour. Then he flipped the tag over and nearly screamed.

"YOU BASTARD, I'M NOT GOING TO -BLEEP- SAKURA!"


	2. Tenten

This chapter involves Naruto and a new character, Tenten (though I know that they hardly make any contact in the series).

* * *

Tenten wasn't really sure what was going on, but she knew it involved Sasuke. 

At least, that was what she thought when she found Naruto flinging a package at the ground and mercilessly stomping on it, grinding the poor thing into little microscopic pieces of pink powder and wrapping paper. A low, steady stream of curses fumbled from his mouth, sounding something like this (you may interpret it as you please):

"That _adjective adjective noun _told me to _verb_ Sakura…cocky _adjective_ noun…can't even _adjective_...get a life…who _adjective_ cares? This is my _adjective_ business, you _noun adjective noun_…"

"Excuse you?" Tenten put her hands on her hips and tried (maybe not hard enough) not to burst into fits of laughter.

Naruto's head shot up. "Oh!" His astonished expression transitioned into a one of casual indifference. "Oh."

"Hello?!?" She grabbed his ears and rattled him until he begged for mercy. "Is that any way to greet your best friend?"

"I'm sorry." Naruto flashed his usual cat-like grin at her and playfully punched her arm. "Hey, Tenten."

She smiled in response. _Now that's better._

"So what's up with you and Sasuke?"

"Nothing's wro- hey! How did you know?!? Why is _everyone_ in _my_ business?" Naruto moaned and sank to his knees.

Tenten plopped down next to him. "Well, it's pretty obvious. When you're swearing under your breath about Sakura and whatever the hell you were instructed to do with her, it's always about Sasuke. _Everyone_ knows that he teases you."

"Really? Even…Sakura knows?" Naruto gloomily plucked bits of grass. He sighed. The answer was obvious.

"Hey, hey, don't worry about it," she soothed. "She doesn't care about that kind of stuff. Believe me, I know."

"Why? Because you're a girl?" He sighed again.

Tenten whacked the back of his head.

"Oww!! What the hell was that for?" he yelped, gingerly nursing his head.

"Stop sighing! It's not like you!" she reprimanded.

"What am I supposed to act like? All bouncy and hyperactive?" he demanded.

"That's _exactly_ what you're supposed to act like," murmured Tenten softly.

An awkward silence lulled their conversation to a temporary standstill. Naruto then jumped up.

"C'mon, Tenten," he said. "Let's go get some ramen."

* * *

"Naruto, I'll pay. You don't need to worry about it." offered Tenten. Her concern for her favorite companion was entirely compulsive. She knew that Naruto was already having difficulty paying the rent for his apartment. 

"No, it's my treat. See? I brought Gama-chan." He pulled out his chubby frog wallet and waved it for emphasis.

"No way. I'm not letting you blow all your cash on ramen." She pushed him aside (forcibly) and quickly paid while Naruto lay helplessly on the ground. As soon as two steaming bowls were brought out, she dragged him to a seat.

"Do you know what I feel like now?" Naruto looked blankly into his bowl.

"Shut up and eat."

"I feel like a rag doll that's being pulled and stretched by a sadistic child – a _girl_, for god's sake."

"Shut up and eat."

"I don't want to."

Tenten looked at him in amazement. Then she set her bowl down and sighed.

"That's too bad, because I wasted all my money on food." She sighed again. "Oh, well. I'm still hungry."

She swiped his bowl and began to shovel noodles in her mouth.

"Wait!! WAIT!! I WANT IT!!! GIVE ME MY RAMEN!!!"

Tenten began to giggle. Noodles and vegetables sprayed out of her mouth, and she giggled even harder.

"Aww, stop it, Tenten." Naruto wrinkled his nose. "That's not girly."

"Eez jus… oo…so funny!" Tenten managed to say between uncontrollable fits of laughter and a mouth bulging with ramen.

Naruto began to giggle at this unladylike sight, and soon Tenten and Naruto were both red in the face and banging the countertop, laughing hysterically.

* * *

In general, the day had gone well. Though they were later both kicked out of the ramen booth, the experience had done some good. 

Night had fallen, and Tenten was sure that her parents would question her whereabouts. Maybe a warning or two, but it was alright. It was worth it.

She looked to the skies. No clouds in sight. The clusters of stars twinkled merrily at her, and she smiled back.

"Isn't it wonderful? Weather like this, before Valentine's Day," she said dreamily and slipped her arm around his.

Naruto grunted. This was _not_ the topic of conversation he would like to discuss. But he relented.

"Yeah, it's beautiful." He raised his head to the iridescent sky looming above him. It really _was_ beautiful. "Hey, Tenten?"

"Uh huh?"

"Do you…like anyone in particular?"

"Nnn…" She blushed in the darkness. "I don't really want to say."

"C'mon, I told you that I liked Sakura!"

"Okay, okay." Tenten breathed in deeply. "I like Neji."

"HUH?!? That stuck-up bastard?"

"He-y!! I didn't make fun of you when you told me about Sakura!"

"Oh, right. Sorry, Tenten-chan."

There was a long pause.

"So-o…are you going to tell him on Valentine's Day?" asked Naruto casually.

"Who? Oh - hmm…" Tenten contemplated this for a moment. "Yeah, I guess so."

"You _guess _so? Isn't this – you know – a big deal?"

"Yeah, maybe. You know, Neji and I have known each other for so long. If he refuses me, it's alright. We'll still be friends."

"Will it all really be okay?"

"In the end, it'll all work out," she said softly. She tore her eyes from the sky and smiled at Naruto so confidently, so blissfully, that Naruto could just hope, only hope.


	3. Sakura

This chapter is about Naruto's love towards Sakura. _

* * *

_

_Mew. _Naruto stirred. He then grunted and shifted in his sleep. His blankets rustled. _Mew_.

"Neko-chan, get off my bed," he mumbled. His tawny cat was in a playful mood. She buried her head in the covers and licked Naruto's arm.

"Hey! That tickles!! I'm SERIOUS, Neko-chan!!" He gently pushed her aside. Meowing, Neko-chan stretched and then trampled on Naruto's face.

"MM!! MRF!!" Naruto pried his cat's claws off his face and dumped her onto the floor. Hurt, Neko-chan burrowed under his nightstand.

"Ohh, I'm sorry, Neko-chan." He pulled his cat from under the nightstand and cuddled her in his arms, his face buried in her silky fur. Neko-chan purred at his gentle embrace.

"Ok, you're right," he said and tossed his comforter aside. "Time to get up." Yawning, he stretched and grinned at Neko-chan.

Any girl outside of Konoha would have swooned at the sight of his exposed lanky, well-muscled chest, reminiscent of last year's summer-tan. He _was _indeed handsome, but no one in Konoha would have told him.

Perhaps no girl was attracted to him simply because they lived around him too long. They had laughed him in second grade when he had peed in his pants during the school play; they had ostracized him from "The Playground" during fourth grade; and most of all, they made Tenten's life miserable once she became friends with Naruto. This he could never forget, and it had marked their inseparability with calluses that could only shield them from blistering glares everytime they walked together, held hands, shared marks on tests.

"Oh, Tenten," Naruto murmured. "I wish that you could be there when I confess to Sakura."

He turned on his radio and, absorbed in his thoughts, he stared at the ceiling.

"_The world is so blue…without you…"_ The song droned on.

Naruto noticed that his white ceiling was turning slightly grey, and paint was peeling off in the corners. _I need to paint the walls._

"_I need you…ohh…I need, need, need you…"_

_Hmm…maybe orange would do…_

"_What is life…_(crackle)_ when the day…_(crackle)_ and…_(crackle)"

_I need a new radio, too._

"_Because I love you…ohh, I love you, love you, love you-u-u…"_

The poor neighbor downstairs heard a thud, a yowl, a steady stream of curses, and a click.

"Damn radio…messing with my mind…" Naruto muttered. He paused as he saw the innocent, sweet face of his little kitten. Then he threw up his hands.

"Ok! I get it! I'm going!!"

* * *

Naruto approached. Sakura turned her head. Naruto hid behind a tree. 

"Holy _shit_, how am I going to do this?!?" Naruto's voice faltered. Then he made up his mind.

_That's it. That's it. Just walk away. I'm not going to put myself through hell. That's it. _He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Naruto-kun, I know you're hiding behind the tree."

Electricity tingled in his fingertips. He could never forget that voice.

He turned around to see the beautiful, piercing green eyes that only belonged to Haruno Sakura.

* * *

_Ok, this is crazy. I'm sitting in a first-class restaurant with Sakura. _He glanced at his flawless, divine goddess gazing wistfully out window. _Sakura._

"Isn't the view wonderful from here?" Sakura turned to him and smiled. His face and neck flushed deeply.

Naruto swallowed. "Y-y-yeah…it's nice…"

Sakura peered at him, puzzled. "You okay? You're turning blue."

Naruto turned away. _Crap. Crap. Crap. I'm gonna die if I keep on going like this!!_

A snigger caught Naruto's attention and he looked up. Sakura's friends were sitting at a nearby table, listening intently to their conversation(?). And - _wtf?!? _- SASUKE was sitting at the same table.

_They're all going to laugh at me! _Naruto buried his hot, burning face in his hands. _But…if it's for Sakura..._

Naruto's eyes grew distant and a strange feeling enveloped him. Was it lust? Was it passion? _Screw it. Screw everything. _

"Sakura…" Naruto's fervent voice burned his throat and suffocated him like an unfurling cloud of smoke. "Sakura…I love you."

Naruto always thought that one moment would never be exactly like the next. But – that brief moment with Sasuke – it was the same. Time simply stopped. All life ceased to exist – except for Sakura and Naruto. Sakura's eyes widened, and her hands reached over the table, past the filet mignon, past the array of candlesticks, to Naruto's chin. _Sh-sh-she's going to kiss me!_

Then the wheels began spinning, and Time whirred to life. Naruto could hear the faint jeering from Sakura's friends transition into a loud roar, as if Time had suddenly found the remote control behind the couch and turned up the volume. And Sakura looked at him with her beautiful, sad eyes.

"I-I'm sorry, Naruto."

---Shouldn't Naruto have known this would happened? He should have known how to avoid a heartbreak. _He should have not given into love._---

Naruto numbly stood up. As if in a dull torpor, he walked mechanically to the window.

The torpor exploded into an outburst of movement. His leg flew over the ledge of the window, and he dangled his arms in the open air.

The teasing and taunted halted abruptly. Then a scream shattered the sleepy lull of plate-scraping, glass-clinking, and laughter-rousing.

"Don't do it, Naruto!!" Sakura cried.

But he wasn't about to jump. Naruto was going to fly.


	4. Naruto

This is the final chapter, however short this fic may seem. This chapter is more sentimental than other ones. So if you don't like it, don't read it.

Also - I think I have confused some people. Let me clear things up. This is not a narusaku fic. I assumed that this was evident when Sakura had turned Naruto down. Also, this is not yaoi. Sasuke and Naruto are merely strengthening their friendship in the end. I imagine that I should have made more of a connection between the two, because they are actually the two important characters.

In addition, I was planning for the sequel to consist of a relationship between two people - Naruto and another _female _character. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against yaoi. However, some reviewers were a little disappointed when I ended the fic this way.

EDIT - The sequel, _My Slide, _is out!

* * *

Naruto was an acrobat. He _had_ to be one. When he was a young troublemaker, he otherwise wouldn't have been able to avoid the hairy, chubby hands of the furious shopkeeper whenever he swiped an apple or two from the outdoor fruit stand. Flip, jump, bend. Oh, how Sakura loved it. He would show off just for her. Just to see her face flush with excitement and her tiny pink hands press together in anticipation. 

_Sakura, I miss you already._

Naruto turned around to take one last glance at Sakura. Sunlight blurred his figure with an outpour of brilliant gold, streaking his hair with splashes of amber, dappling his cheeks with a galaxy of radiant stars. _He's beautiful. _Sakura, with tears springing into her eyes, murmured this realization. _He's so heartbreakingly beautiful. _

Naruto looked back into the glaring sun. Then he allowed himself to descend into the rushing air.

He caught hold of a clothesline below. Effortlessly, he swung his feet into the air, hooking onto another line, back and forth, back and forth. His movements were as fluid as a rushing stream, his body as graceful as the practiced hand of a calligrapher. He balanced his hand on the tip of a telephone pole, tested his speed as he bounded from one swaying tree to the next.

Bend, twirl, jump. He never wanted to stop.

_It looked purely magical. _

_The sun seemed to drift amidst fistfuls of shimmering stars, cradled in the body of opalescent water presented before it. Its warmth reached out to the depths of the lake and appeared to float just above the surface, allowing the lake to gleam and glitter at every twist of the rippling water. Light seeped into the shadows, leaving everything, for a split second, engulfed in a coverlet of vibrant energy._

Naruto memorized that excerpt from Sakura's sixth grade essay. He saw the passion, the tranquility as she closed her eyes, reading the first few lines out loud to the class. And, she concluded, she wanted to be a writer.

As he soared into the sky, he gazed down for a hundredth of a second at the world below him. It truly never seemed as magical. _Magic, _he thought, _is the work of an artist. The work of a writer. The work of an acrobat._

He was indeed magic.

Naruto then took one last dive and collapsed in the corner of a building.

With his chest heaving up and down and beads of sweat trickling down his face, he took no notice of the darkening sky. He closed his eyes and tried to calm the pounding of his heart. He shivered. _It's so…cold…_Then he opened his eyes. Little smudges of white drifted pensively from the sky. _Snow. _

He breathed in the crisp, sweet air. He allowed the snowflakes to melt on his sticky shirt and on his hot skin.

A teardrop escaped from the corner of his eyelid. It dripped onto the ground and froze. Then another one joined the teardrop. A torrent of tears relentlessly streaked down his face, one by one, _drip drip _down to the floor. There were no wretched animal noises one makes when they cannot stop crying. He simply lay there, silent, a fountain overflowing with bitter sadness.

"I found you, Naruto."

Naruto didn't have to turn around to see who it was. _Step, step. _He was getting closer.

Naruto raised a shaky hand and gave him the finger.

"You're crying, Naruto." Sasuke knelt down next to him.

"Piss off, Uchiha."

"Sorry, but you're going to catch a cold if I don't bring you home."

"Go back to your fucking admirers. Fucking leave me alone."

"I told them all to stop bitching and to get a life."

"You did?" Naruto whispered and finally looked at him. Sasuke's eyes were soft and unbearably sad. Then Naruto turned around. "Whatever."

"So we're playing games, aren't we?" Sasuke said harshly. Then he sighed. "Oh well."

Naruto was surprised to feel a warm shoulder brush against his own. He glanced at Sasuke. Sasuke met his glance. His hand slipped quietly into Naruto's. It was blisteringly hot. But Naruto never struggled to get out of his grip. Holding hands was a comfort, something he had never done in years.

In the silence, the falling snow made a tiny _patter, patter _on the ground. Naruto had never noticed this before.

"Naruto?" Sasuke whispered. "I never told you this before, but I love you."

Naruto was motionless for a brief moment, his face and body suddenly cold and white. Then both guys cracked up.

"You almost fell for that!" Sasuke rolled over and pounded the floor with his fists, his laughter resembling that of a hyena.

"Man, I would have liked to see every girl in Konoha watch you confess to me!" Naruto snickered.

Then they both fell silent.

"We're such bitches, aren't we?" Sasuke joked, provoking another uproar of laughter.

"Dammit, my stomach hurts like hell!" Naruto giggled. But he didn't notice the corners of Sasuke's mouth turned upside down.

"Really, Naruto, I thought you would never laugh again, the way Sakura rejected you," Sasuke murmured.

Naruto looked away. "Nah, it's fine now…I guess."

Sasuke sat up and stared at him firmly. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure, I'm sure."

"You _absolutely _sure?"

"I'm positive, dammit!"

Sasuke fell silent. He watched Naruto's fist clench, relax, then fall limp to the floor.

"No," Naruto finally said. "It's not alright. But you wouldn't understand."

This time, Sasuke didn't sympathize with Naruto. In one swift movement, he grabbed hold of Naruto's T-shirt, pinning him to the wall.

"Don't fuck with me. Don't tell me that I don't understand anything," Sasuke snarled, his eyes now frighteningly coal-black with rage.

"How would you understand? You could get any Konoha girl, _any_, and make her grovel at your feet."

"Do you think I get attention? Is that why? _Is that why you think I don't understand you?_ I have to live in a graveyard. I have to live in a house still stained with my family's blood. I have to be _alone_." Sasuke's hands shook against Naruto's shoulder, and he hung his head. "Alone."

Naruto knew that Sasuke was hiding his tears.

And then,

willingly,

he took his enemy,

his rival,

into his arms.

It would have seemed unnatural to an outsider, a stranger, who would ignorantly point out that they were fighting with each other for their whole life, how could they suddenly forgive each other?

But how could they feel the same grief as Sasuke buried his face into Naruto's shoulder? How could they feel the same pain as Naruto, burdened with guilt, stroked his head consolingly? _They just don't understand._

The sky cleared once more, and the sun, now flushed with crimson, melted the snow into pools of murky water. It was time to go home.

"Naruto, what are you going to do about Sakura?" Sasuke asked as they began to walk down the street.

Naruto shrugged. "I don't really feel that bad about Sakura anymore. I think I knew this all along, but I never did love her."

"You sure?" Sasuke said anxiously.

"It'll all work out, won't it?"

* * *

Thank you to those reviewers who supported me - I couldn't have written as well without their helpful feedback. 


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